Friday Night Lights Burn Brightly Again

It’s begun! The first week of the high school football season has been completed, marking the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Soon the leaves will turn and we will begin digging out our warm jackets from the back of the closet. This is a special time of year that all true football fans wait for; a time when hope still springs eternal. Before this week, every team dreams of an undefeated season and a date in the state championship game. Now that the dust has settled, half of those teams need to regroup and rededicate their efforts while the other half is exactly where they thought that they would be, undefeated.

We here at High School Cover 2 are no different. During the long off-season we scurry around talking to coaches and players about the upcoming year, but nothing gets our blood stirring more than when the practice and palaver is over and the games begin. And, when they do, we try to stay neutral, but we always have an eye on the teams of the coaches we have interviewed. We know personally how hard they work and the obstacles that they have to overcome each year. After the first week, our coaches in Washington State are a collective 8 wins and 4 losses. Our lone coach from Hawaii is 2-0. So, for the most part, they had a good start and still feel good about the upcoming season. It was a good beginning.

On Friday night, Jim watched the Arlington/Mariner contest (which he will report on separately) while I journeyed up to Lummi to watch the first night game ever at their new field. It was a true “Friday Night Lights.” The game wasn’t bad either, at least for the home team. They beat Neah Bay 45-0 and only had to play one half to get it done, winning on the mercy rule.

Why would we spend any time reporting on a mere 8-man team, you might ask? There were more prestigious and supposedly important games being played this first week. Certainly, the Liberty/Skyline contest had all the hype and it lived up to its billing. There’s just something about watching Lummi play at Lummi. 8-man football has been described by some as basketball on grass and certainly there is much more scoring than normal 11-man football. But this was not basketball I watched on Friday. There were some thunderous hits and nearly as many runs as passes. It provided everything a football junkie could want, unless of course they were rooting for Neah Bay. Maybe it’s the intimate setting, with trees all around or all the attention they pay to their fans, especially the tribal elders who attend the games for free and are provided special seating while the game announcer continually thanks them for attending that makes watching a Lummi home game so special. But, for me at least, it’s mostly the chance to see Coach Jim Sandusky work his magic on the field that he designed and on the team that he started from scratch, only to see them reach the championship game last year at the Tacoma Dome. With five talented seniors returning, they look like a lock to go back again this year.

So, no matter what team you support or if you just like to watch football without having to pay exorbitant ticket prices and you need an excuse to get out in the fresh air, there’s no better time than fall. Get out and support your favorite team.